Islamophobia in Europe: How governments are enabling the far-right 'counter-jihad' movement

The Christchurch terror attack put the global Islamophobia epidemic in sharp focus. But the organisations and ideologues responsible for normalising Islamophobia both in Europe and across the Atlantic are rarely scrutinised.

The lobbying watchdog Spinwatch published a report in Parliament on 26 March 2019 that examines how the counter-extremism policies of governments in the UK, France and Germany have abetted the rise of an Islamophobic ‘counter-jihad’ movement that makes Islamophobia respectable. This movement has worked with governments to influence policies that are designed to foster suspicion and mistrust of Muslims.